UPDATE 3:45pm: Andrew Soto, the man who found the charred Mitsubishi Galant at the bottom of a hill in the desert, testified next. Soto, who did not want to be videotaped or photographed, says he went shooting in the desert with his cousin after getting a new gun. He said he looked down from the hill he was shooting at and saw the charred car and shot at it a few times. He said he and his cousin climbed down the hill and recognized human remains and immediately called police. He said they stayed at the scene five or six hours and investigators took pictures of their shoes. Then he was dismissed. John Sanchez, a forensics expert employed by the state of New Mexico, testified next. He took fingerprints from the charred vehicle. But upon cross-examination, Sanchez testified that the prints did not match those of defendant Irvin Ramirez. Justin Frederick, an investigator with the New Mexico State Police , testified next. He went to the rest stop in Anthony on January 18, 2010 to search the area for evidence. He found a bullet casing. Defense attorney Mario Torrez asked him if he found any other evidence, like articles of clothing, and Frederick said no.
UPDATE 2:50pm: Upon cross examination, detective Randy Larcher said none of the items found to be associated with Espinosa were found at defendant Irvin Ramirez's home. Detectives had found a bag of clothes and receipts with Espinosa's name on them in a septic tank at the home of Javier Orozco. Private investigator Chris Stewart was next on the stand. But defense attorney Mario Torrez objected to his testimony because they say Stewart was originally hired by Ramirez's former defense attorney, Michael Cain, and that he gave evidence and statements to Stewart which might have hurt him more than helped him. But prosecutor Scot Key claimed Ramirez voluntarily gave the clothes. The judge ruled that because the information and evidence was always going to be disclosed, it is not confidential and Stewart's testimony would be allowed. Stewart testified that Ramirez's family voluntarily gave him his clothes around January 25, 2010, a few days before a search warrant. "They said there should be no blood because he didn't do it," Stewart said of a conversation with Ramirez's family. The prosecution brought a pair of Nike shoes in as evidence. UPDATE 1pm: Randy Larcher with the New Mexico State Police testified that he found a bag of clothes and receipts with Adam Espinosa's name in the septic tank of one of the defendants. Javier Orozco, Jr. and Jorge Murillo are charged with the same crimes as current defendant Irvin Ramirez. They are accused of shooting Espinosa in the head, chest, and arm, putting his body in the trunk, and setting fire to the vehicle. They are also accused of stealing about $2,500 worth of property from the car. A man named Robert Lascano, Jr. is accused of possessing Espinosa's stolen cell phone and not reporting the murder to police. Officer Larcher testified that he found a black bag full of clothes with receipts containing Espinosa's name in the septic tank at the home of Orozco in Anthony, NM. He said he also found a firearm behind the television. Prosecutors showed the court surveillance footage from a FastTrack gas station in Fabens in which Espinosa can be seen walking in alone and buying a beverage at 10pm on January 4. Investigators believe he was killed between January 4 and January 5. The prosecution then asked the jury to step outside and look at a piece of evidence they couldn't bring into the courtroom - the charred Mitsubishi Galant belonging to Espinosa. Then the courtroom took a break for lunch. UPDATE @ 11:00 a.m. LAS CRUCES - An emotional Olivia Espinosa took the stand to testify in the trial of a man accused of killing her 21-year-old son Adam Espinosa.
Prosecutors accuse 18-year-old Irvin Ramirez, along with two other men, of shooting and killing Adam, robbing him and setting his car on fire last year. All three defendants will be tried separately.
"I didn't want him to leave," Olivia said, speaking about her son's trip to move from his parent's home in San Antonio, Texas. He planned to move in with his sister, Genevieve Engelbrecht, in Oceanside, California.
"Had he gone on any cross-country trips before?" asked Assistant District Attorney Scot Key.
"Never," Olivia said. She said he brought many valuables with him, such as clothes, a flat-screen TV, a laptop computer, a video game system, and a musical instrument.
"I asked him to wait," Olivia added. "But he was determined to go." She broke into tears when she said she last checked in with her son when he was about 60 miles away from El Paso. She said the conversation was brief because his phone's battery was dying.
The prosecution then played a recording of the voice messages left on Adam's cell phone. There were more than a dozen messages.
"I am so worried about you, call me please, Adam," said one of the messages.
"Adam, it's me, your Dad, you need to call, I don't care what it is, you need to call," said another.
"I'm worried that you're in a ditch somewhere or hiding out somewhere," said another.
After he didn't answer, Olivia and Genevieve left from San Antonio and Oceanside, respectfully, to look for Adam around 2:00 a.m. on January 6, 2010. They also filed a police report with the New Mexico State Police.
Genevieve testified that she was very close to her brother, and that she had also gone on a road trip when she was 19-years-old to move to Yuma, Arizona.
"He was probably thinking, my sister did it, I can do it, too," she said. She began crying when she recalled her last phone conversation with her brother.
"He was really, really happy," she said.
She testified that she kept calling Adam's cell phone on January 5, 2010. At first, it kept going to his voicemail, but later in the day around 5:00 p.m., it began ringing.
Deputy Aaron Solis from the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office testified that he received a call from people who were out shooting in the desert saying they saw a charred car. Solis went to the area and found the car in a crevasse. He described the area as a makeshift shooting range with nothing really around it. Solis said he shined his flashlight in the car and saw human remains in the trunk.
"I saw what appeared to be a skull and ribs," Solis said.
Ramirez is charged with first degree muder, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, tampering with evidence, arson, and receiving stolen property.
Stay with ktsm.com for more updates from the courtroom later in the day.
Previous Story:
LAS CRUCES - Jury selection began yesterday for one of three men accused of shooting and killing 20-year-old Adam Espinoza at an Anthony rest stop last year.
The trial of 18-year-old Irvin Ramirez will be underway today. Ramirez, Jorge Murillo, and Javier Orozco will all be tried separately. Each have plead not guilty and face life in prison if convicted.
Espinoza was driving from San Antonio to San Diego to see his sister when he stopped to take a nap at the rest stop.
The three are accused of shooting him then setting his car on fire.
Post new Comment